Chapter Thirty-Five: The Disgusting System

Immediately, three avatars appeared. The first was a robotic head, the second a handsome middle-aged man, and the third a stunning beauty with long black hair and eyes brimming with endless allure. These must be the three modes the system mentioned. The first was the system’s current robotic voice—decidedly unpleasant, mechanical, and stilted, just like the speech of robots in his previous life. It was truly grating to the ears.

The second mode, the handsome middle-aged man, gave off a sense of righteousness even through the avatar alone—much like a news anchor, precise and proper, but utterly devoid of any charm or fun. This system had been with him for so long; if it took on the personality of a news anchor, talking to him every day, he’d go mad. He’d have to use Photoshop just to change it.

And let’s be honest, what man wouldn’t choose the third, the coquettish and gentle voice? After all, a sweet, delicate voice was always pleasant to hear. What’s more, just from the avatar, that breathtaking beauty’s fair, flawless skin and those sparkling, seductive eyes made her the only real choice.

Lin Fan could almost imagine her sultry figure—curves hidden and revealed, seductive and graceful, exuding a captivating charm.

“I choose the third option!” Lin Fan declared to the system in his mind without hesitation.

“The host has selected the third, incomplete option. Beginning binding process!” The system’s voice echoed in his mind, followed by a mechanical clattering that made Lin Fan’s expression change. A bad feeling welled up inside him, and he quickly shouted at the system, “What do you mean, incomplete? What does that mean?”

But before he could finish, a voice so electrifying it seemed to reach his very bones rang out, making his whole body tremble.

“Oh my, what are you saying, my little master? Who are you calling incomplete?” The voice was coquettish, so sweet it almost made Lin Fan’s soul drift away—crisp like a lark, yet bewitching and charming. He couldn’t help but look toward the avatar forming in his mind.

“Good heavens, what in the world is this…?” Lin Fan was stunned by the image that appeared in his mind. If his bones had turned to jelly before, now it felt as though they’d been shattered to pieces!

What on earth was this thing before him? Could it just pass on to the afterlife, please?

At first glance, the face was indeed that of a peerless beauty—large, expressive eyes, fair skin, and flowing black hair. So far, so good.

But shouldn’t the body beneath be enchanting and voluptuous, with a magnificent figure?

What was this?! Yes, there were pectoral muscles—but the physique was as burly as a bear! Not only could those muscles break bricks, they could probably shatter sledgehammers!

In that moment, a scene from a past-life anime, “A Hundred Thousand Bad Jokes,” flashed through Lin Fan’s mind. The figure before him looked exactly like Nezha from that show—if anything, even more robust.

“Don’t be afraid, master, I’m very gentle!” Seeing Lin Fan’s shock, the system intelligence, with its angelic face and bear-like body, suddenly grinned. But this time, the voice was no longer bewitching; it was gruff and masculine, like the world-famous tenor Pavarotti crooning sweet words to you.

If anything, this combination was even more terrifying than before!

“Stop, you damned scam of a system!” Lin Fan’s vision went black, and he nearly fainted. Where was the sweet, delicate beauty he was promised?

At that moment, he finally understood what “incomplete” meant. It was as if someone had gone for surgery in Thailand but ran out of money halfway and was sent home unfinished.

Meanwhile, in the Four Seas Restaurant, many patrons were still reeling from the shock of Lin Fan defeating Zhang Yuan with a mere gesture. They observed Lin Fan closely, noting his face flushing red, then pale, then veins bulging with anger—completely bewildered.

“Brother, may I ask your name? Are you here to participate in the Tianshu Academy enrollment as well? How about I buy you a drink?” a clear, melodious voice suddenly called out, bringing Lin Fan back to his senses. He looked up to see a beautiful young woman before him—the very same Mo Qing’er who had been sitting at a distance earlier.

Mo Qing’er’s gaze was pure, without the slightest arrogance or rudeness, which made Lin Fan feel a bit of goodwill toward her. Normally, he wouldn’t have thought much of it, but after the mental torment he’d just endured from the system, the sight of this beauty soothed his wounded spirit somewhat.

“System, disappear immediately. If there’s anything I need to know, just use alerts. For negative emotion points, just display subtitles,” he ordered silently in his mind. “And no more switching to a male voice—just keep the previous female one!”

As the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind. With that, Lin Fan exited the system interface in his mind.

“Have a seat,” Lin Fan nodded. “My name is Lin Fan—just call me by my name. Yes, I’m here to take part in the Tianshu Academy enrollment. I heard someone say you’re called Mo Qing’er, ranked twenty-second among young talents. Quite impressive!”

“Not at all, my abilities are nothing compared to yours, Brother Lin. The way you defeated Zhang Yuan just now—even my brother Mo Shaoyan can’t match that. My skills are nothing special,” Mo Qing’er replied with a charming smile as she sat down. The two of them began to chat, and the other patrons, after a brief silence, resumed their lively conversations.

About half an hour passed when the sound of footsteps came from the stairway. Several youths appeared on the third floor, scanning the tables. When they spotted Lin Fan, their eyes lit up, and they hurried over. One of them, a silver-robed youth, laughed and called out, “Brother Fan, why are you sitting here? Come on upstairs—tonight we drink till we drop!”

“Haha, you’re finally here! I’ve already finished a pot of wine. Let’s go, let’s go, upstairs!” Lin Fan grinned, recognizing the newcomers as Xiao Shuihan and his friends.

After greeting Mo Qing’er, Lin Fan and the others nodded to her and then headed upstairs together.

“Who is that young man?” the other guests whispered after Lin Fan left. “He knows the young masters of the Xiao and Li families?”

In the region, Qingxue Prefecture governed more than eighty cities. Some cities housed only a single family, while others had five or six. The number of families depended on the size of the city; in Qingxue’s main city alone, there were eight powerful clans.

Altogether, there were over seventy families in Qingxue City, large and small. To be considered a true family, one needed at least a Tongmai Realm expert as a pillar. Otherwise, they were just minor local forces—like the family Lin Fan once belonged to in the small city of Xiao Bei, where the strongest leader was only at the Qimai Realm. Such groups weren’t recognized as real families.

Only by producing a Tongmai Realm expert could a clan be counted as a true family. That was why the Lin family’s patriarch, being a Tongmai Realm expert, made the other three families in Xiao Bei so restless.

In small cities like Xiao Bei, real families didn’t bother fighting over scraps. Besides, the true owner of Xiao Bei was always the Xiao family, not the so-called four great families. Most of the mines and shops belonged to the Xiao family, and no other clan would dare try to snatch them.

Now, seeing Lin Fan acquainted with the heirs of the Shangguan, Xiao, and Li families, the patrons were astonished. Among the seventy-odd families in Qingxue, the Shangguans ranked fifth, the Xiaos sixth, and the Lis ninth—top-tier clans in the region!

Add to that the Seventh Young Master of the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce, which spanned over twenty prefectures, the son of Sun Tianwang, and the son of General Ou—all of them together wielded incredible influence.

These young masters were known as perfect Body-Refining cultivators. The reason they didn’t appear among the top hundred young talents was that they had just stepped into the early stage of Qi-Introduction. No one doubted their strength, for the pure and powerful energy of perfect Body-Refining cultivators far surpassed that of ordinary Qi-Introduction practitioners.

By their estimates, even without martial techniques, these young masters could fight mid-stage Qi-Introduction experts using just their energy and physical power. With their families’ potent martial arts, they might even challenge peak Qi-Introduction fighters.

Of course, among the top hundred young talents were even stronger individuals, also perfect Body-Refining cultivators, already in the mid or late stage of Qi-Introduction—though they were also a year or two older, and their backgrounds were just as extraordinary.

Everyone now speculated about Lin Fan’s background, wondering what kind of power stood behind him for him to be friends with these young masters.

As the saying goes, a true dragon does not share a den with snakes, nor a phoenix a nest with common fowl. The company one keeps says everything—so they believed Lin Fan’s origins were far from ordinary.